Photographic camera.



No. 702,358. Patented lune l0, I902.

- A.YD. DAVIS. I

PHOTOGRAPHIC CAMERA.

{Application filed Apr. 13, 1901.)

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ALBERT DAVIS, OF YONKERS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO FREDERICKIV. LIVERMORE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

PHOTOGRAPHI'C CAM ERA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 702,358, dated June 10,1902.

Application filed April 18, 1901.

To all whom it may concern: Beitknown that I, ALBERTD. DAVIS, a citizenof the United States, residing at Yonkers, in the county of Westchesterand State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Photographic Cameras; and I do declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact-description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which I0 it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to thefigures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to cameras, and is an improvement upon the camerafor which United States Letters Patent No. (A0437 7 of January 2, 1900,were granted to F. W. Livermore as inventor and to myself as theassignee of an undivided one-half interest. In said patented inventionthe lid constitutes a lever for throwing forward the lens into position,and a stop and a brace are employed for maintaining the lens-frame in anupright position 2' 5 when the lens is thrown forward. Under my presentinvention I make use of a stop and a spring for maintaining thelens-frame in an upright position, whether vertical or inclined, in theforward position of the lens; and the invention consists, primarily, ina stop and a spring for said purpose.

It further consists in the construction and in the arrangement of partsto the accomplishment of the foregoing and such other 0bjects as mayhereinafter appear.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation showing in full lines thelens-frame in its forward position with the lid lowered and in dottedlines the same parts in their closed position. Fig. 2 is a front view ofFig. 1. Fig. 3 is a detached view of the spring device used inconnection with the lens-frame, and Fig. 4 is a vertical section throughthe same parts and one arm of the slide-bracket.

In the drawings the numeral 1 designates the box of the camera, whichmay be of any approved pattern, and within the boxis placed the frame 2,to which is attached one end of the bellows 3, the other end thereofbeing at- 5o tached to the lens-frame 1 and the lens-holder 5, all ofwhich parts may be of any approved Serial No. 55,710. (No model.)

pattern, as may also the slide-bracket 0 and the guide-plate 7, saidguide-plate being attached to the lid 8, hinged to the box of thecamera, as shown. The lens-frame is connected with the upright membersof the slide bracket by means of pintles 9 and 10, so as to have aswinging movement thereon, said pintles projecting from the plates 11,attached by screws 12 or otherwise to the sides of the lens-frame.

As before mentioned, in the patent heretofore referred to a brace isemployed for cooperatin g with a stop for holding the lens-frame steadywhen the lid is opened and the lens advanced to the point desired. Inthe present invention I omit the brace referred to and use in placethereof a spring suitably applied which will serve practically the samepurpose as the brace and possess additional advantages and functions.The preferred construction and application of this spring areillustrated in the accompanying drawings, and, as illustrated, consists,preferably, of a coil-spring 13, which encircles the pintle 10, thepintle for that purpose being extended a sufficient distance from theside of the lensframe. One end of this spring bears against a pin 14,which projects from the side of the lens-frame or the plate 11, theotherend of the spring bearing against a pin 15, which preferably isthreaded so as to pass through one arm of the slide-bracket, asillustrated clearly in Fig. 4, the tension of said spring being suchthat when the lens-frame is in an upright posi- 8 5 tion the spring willtend to hold itin that position and when moved therefrom to restore itto such position. This spring also permits the lens frame to assume thedifferent angles which it takes in moving the frame into the 0camera-box, and when said frame is moved outward said spring will movethe frame into its upright position. YVhile this spring is adapted to beused in connection with a stop such as is illustrated in the Livermorepat- 5 out hereinbefore referred to, yet I prefer to use a stop such asI shall now describe. The stop which I prefer to use in connection withthe spring in the form illustrated in the drawings consists of a pawl16, adapted to I00 engage with a tooth 17, which is formed on theperiphery of the shell 18, which encircles the pintle 10 and inclosesthe coil-spring 13. The spring exerting its pressure upon the lens-framein one direction and the stop affording a resistance to the spring inthe opposite direction, the spring and stop cooperate to sustain thelens-frame in an upright position. This upright position may be eithervertical or at an inclination to a vertical, as desired, it beingdesirable under some circumstances to have the lens-frame stand at aninclination to a vertical, so as to take in a different field and tohave it firmly held in that position I provide for this by having aseries of these stops 17, which may be formed upon the periphery of theshell It, as shown in the drawings, so as to graduate the inclination tothat desired, and in order to have the pawl engage the stop desired thepawl is adapted to be moved out of range of one stop and be brought intothe range of another. The preferred construction for this purpose is toform a slot 18 in the shank or arm of the pawl, through which slot thepintle 10 will pass and which slot will permit the pawl to be raised soas to disengage one stop and then lowered to engage another stop, the series of stops thus constituting a ratchet adapted to cooperate with thepawl for the purposes mentioned. For the purpose of holding the pawl inengagement with the stop I cause a spring to bear against a part of thepawlfor instance, against a lip or shoulder 19, formed, say, at thelower end of the shank of the pawl-which spring may be of any desiredform, a suitable form for the purpose being illustrated in the drawingsand consisting of the loop-spring 20, the free end of which bears downagainst the top of the lip or shoulder 19, so as to draw the pawldownward by a yielding motion, said spring being held by screws 21 orotherwise preferably to one arm of the slide-bracket G, as illustrated.

In Fig. 1 of the drawings I have illustrated by full lines thelens-frame as supported in a vertical position and by dotted lines in aposition at an angle or incline to a vertical, the degree of inclinationbeing controlled by the pawl engaging one or another of the stops orteeth of the ratchet, as is obvious. This is an advantage which will beappreciated by those skilled in the art. From the construction describedit will be seen that I am enabled to maintain the lens-frame in anupright position, whether it be a vertical or an inclination to avertical, by means of a spring and a stop, and I thus produce a camerahaving all the advantages of the construction of camera disclosed in theLivermore patent mentioned and possessing additional advantages. It willalso be observed that the construction described affords an adjustablestop for securing the lens-frame at various adj ustments from a verticalto an inclination to the vertical and that the spring as the means forcooperating with the stop to hold the lensframe in its variousadjustments cooperates with the stop in the several adjustments of thelens-frame. I have illustrated and described with particularity thepreferred details of construction and arrangement of the several parts;but it is obvious from the de scription given that while I prefer suchdetails and intend to cover the same, yet the invention is not limitedin its scope to such details, as changes can be made therein andessential features of the invention still be cn1- ployed. I have alsoillustrated a screw 22, which can be secured at various points along theguide-plate 7, so as to limit the movement of the slide-bracket 6 in onedirection, the point at which the screw is secured being that of thefocus of the particular lens in use, and when a lens of a differentfocus is employed the set-screw is adjusted for the focus of thesubstituted lens, said screw thus serving as an adjustable stop for thevarying focuses of different lenses.

It is common in some constructions of cameras to adjust theplate-holding frame in obtaining the focus instead of throwing the lensframe forward for the purpose, and therefore while I have illustrated myinven tion as applied to the lensframe, yet it is to be understood thatmy invention comprises the novel features specified in whateverconnection or relation of the focusing parts of the camera they may beemployed.

Having described my invention and set:- forth its merits, what I claimis- 1. In a camera, aframe carrying the focusing member of the camera,and a stop and spring cooperating together to maintain thefocusing-1nembencarrying frame in an upright position, said springexerting a pressure in one direction on said frame and the stop actingin opposition thereto, and said frame adapted to move away from the stopwhen the tension of the spring is overcome in the operation of closingthe camera, substantially as described.

2. In a camera, a frame carrying the focusin g member of the camera, anadjustable stop and means cooperating therewith to maintain thefoousing-member-carrying frame, in an upright position at variousadjustments, substantially as described.

3. In a camera, a frame carrying the focusing member of the camera, asupport with which said frame has a swinging connection, a springconnected with a part of said frame and with a member against which itbears, and a stop cooperating with said spring to maintain said frame inan upright position, said spring exerting a pressure in one direction onsaid frame and the stop acting in opposition thereto, and said frameadapted to move away from the stop when the tension of the spring isovercome in the operation of closing the camera,substantially asdescribed.

4. In a camera, a frame carrying the focusing member of the camera, asupport with which said frame has aswinging connection, means forlimiting the movement of said frame in one direction consisting of astop and a pawl, and a spring cooperating with said means formaintaining said frame in an upright position, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a camera, a frame carrying the focusing member of the camera, asupport with which said frame has a swinging connection, means forlimiting the movement of said frame in one direction consisting of apawl and a series of stops for stopping the movement at variousadjustments, and a spring cooperating with said means for maintainingsaid frame in an upright position, substantially as described.

6. In a camera, a frame carrying the focusing member of the camera, asupport with which said frame has a swinging connection, means forlimiting the movement of said frame in one direction consisting of astop and a spring-influenced pawl, and a spring cooperating with saidmeans for maintaining said frame in an upright position, substantiallyas described.

7. In a camera, a frame carrying the focusing member of the camera, asupport with which said frame has a swinging connection,

means for limiting the movement of said frame in one directionconsisting of a springinfluenced pawl and a stop, and means coopcratingwith said means for maintaining said frame in an upright position,substantially as described.

8. In a camera, a frame carrying the focusing member of the camera, asupport for said frame, a pintle effecting a swinging connection of saidframe with said support, a spring connected at one point with saidsupport and at another point with a part of said frame, a shell formedwith a ratchet and connected to said frame, a pawl to engage saidratchet and having a slotted shank, through which a guiding pin orpintle passes, and a spring acting on said pawl, substantially asdescribed.

In testimony whereof I affiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ALBERT D. DAVIS.

Witnesses WM. G. HENDERSON, Gno. W. REA.

